Different managers will have different styles. This is understandable as no two managers are alike. However, there is one managerial style that can be possible the most self-defeating managerial style of all. That is the style of the micromanager and it is a disastrous style that can totally crush an employee’s ability to succeed. More than anything else, this type of managerial style can lead to reversing the sense of empowerment that an employee needs to embody in order to succeed at a job. Why is this? Let’s take a closer look at the problem…

Employees need to be a sense of pride and confidence in what they are doing. When this sense of pride is undermined by a manager that is seemingly self-serving and meddling, the employee must second guess his or her actions. This problem will compound itself when the employ begins to worry about potential punishment or repercussions from a micromanaging manager. Now, how can an employee possibly perform effectively in the workplace if this is the case? The answer is that the employee is unable to and this brings down the productivity of the office. No amount of career advice can possibly reverse such a negative scenario.

Some managers assume such a style will improve the productivity of the office. This is simply not the case because it certainly will undermine it more than help it move forward. There is also a major problem with invoking threats: some employees may laugh at such threats because they have other employment options available. So, when a manager opts to lean on an employer to force then to perform, they may simply end up driving a quality employee into the arms of a competitor. This would be a minor career change for the employee and a major embarrassment for the manager that drove the employee away. Now, how can any business survive when it is doing such things?

There also needs to be a bit of a warning put towards the micromanager that tries to lean on employees too heavily. That warning (or career advice) is that such a manager is doing little more than exposing his lack of skill. In other words, the manager may find himself removed from a managerial position as a result of his actions. Yet, there are some managers that seemingly undermine employee empowerment at every level. Why do they do this? Because they are self-absorbed to the point they do not see the impact they are having is negative. Even when they are forced into an unwanted career change as a result they still do not see the proverbial error of their ways. Again, managers need to understand the negative impact their behavior yield if for no other reason than self-preservation.

Again, there are many different managerial styles. Some are good and others are less. Regardless of the style a particular manager embodies, it is necessary to follow a methodology that improves employee empowerment and does not undermine it. This is just the wisest course of action to take.